Roland Savage Dayton, Gunsmith, Blacksmith, Farmer, County commissioner, and preacher, was born in 1815. In the 1850 census, he lived just two doors down from Gunsmith Frederick Sheetz's residence in Sheetz Mill, Hampshire County, Virginia, present-day Headsville Mineral County, West Virginia. He probably learned the gunsmith trade in the Sheetz shop. By 1860, he was living in McCoole, Maryland, and remained there until his death on August 1, 1900.
The two featured half-stock percussion rifles below were made and signed by Dayton. We have seen eight rifles that Dayton made, half of which were full stocks. All of them were original percussion. All but one had both a patchbox and a capbox. Both of the rifles below have 38-inch barrels that have not been cut. One is a 40 caliber and the other 36.
Roland was an Allegany County commissioner in the mid-1860s.
Roland was also a Methodist preacher. After the Civil War, the Methodist church at Headsville did not have a preacher, so Roland would walk from McCoole, Maryland, to preach. His Obituary states that he preached 6,000 sermons. He and his wife Nancy had 15 children. At his death in 1900, they had 66 grandchildren and 56 great-grandchildren. His obituary was published in newspapers across the United States.
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Kansas City Star
Baltimore Sun
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